California State Championships Race 2: Infineon Raceway, 31 July- 1 August 2010

The second round of the revived California State Championship Series (CSC) would have us racing at Infineon Raceway. We hadn’t raced at this track for almost a year and hadn’t been on the bike since the May CSC round, but a shake down at Thunderhill Raceway Park earlier in the week warmed us up for the race weekend and boosted our confidence in the bike.

Team JaS currently leads the Open Twins class in the California State Championships!

Photo by Gary Rather Photo

Early during Saturday’s practice sessions, we were two seconds off our best practice pace- a pace we were trying to achieve in order to yield a good grid position for our first race. Unfortunately, the best position we could hope for would be on the fourth row as the first three rows were allocated to the host club’s (AFM) top-12 points holders. CSC racers would then be gridded by lap time. The fog and cool conditions weren’t helping and our used Dunlop N-Tec Slick (6680 medium/hard compound) was tearing so we decided to put on a fresh rear tire only two sessions in. However, we wouldn’t get another practice session before the F40 grids would be posted.

Formula 40 We accomplished our goal and were gridded in row four, position 15 (closest to the right side of the track) which was in fact better than the left side because 1) we would not get pinched between the concrete wall and the riders heading left into turn 1 and 2) we would be better set up for turn 2 which was an uphill, off-camber right hander. A solid and smooth launch got us into the top 10 going into turn 1 and we were in 7^th the next time around and still in touch with the lead group. However, our charge would be short-lived due to a red flag which halted the race prematurely. While we waited for the re-start, we threw on tire warmers and even used a fan to try to cool down the sensitive Ducati dry clutch. Several minutes passed, but not enough to cool the clutch down and once the green flag dropped a second time, our 1098R’s clutch grabbed and the bike bucked making for a rather dramatic but slow start off the line. Onward we went and when the northerly wind picked up, pushing us deeper and deeper into turns 1, 4, & 7, we adjusted and fought our way to 10^th place. We currently hold 4^th place in Formula 40 Heavyweight in the California State Championship Series.

Open Twins After the Formula 40 race on Saturday, we made a few adjustments to the bike- we shuffled our clutch pack and adjusted the friction zone on the lever in an effort to smooth out our launch and took out some fork preload to help the bike turn quicker on the brakes. We were gridded in row four, position 13 which was a less desirable position than yesterday as we were sandwiched between riders on either side and closer to the wall. However, the changes we had made to the clutch lead to a smoother start and we were 8^th going into turn 1 with our good friend, Bud Anderson (AFM #37), hot on our tail. On lap three, after going wide in the double apex turn 7, Bud got the better of us and snuck up our inside on the brakes into turn 9. We held our position thereafter, though, and finished a solid 9^th place. We now are leading the Open Twins class in the California State Championship Series!

Formula 1 (Pacific) We were finally riding better on to this track after our 10-month hiatus, but it was too little too late as our lap times weren’t coming down fast enough. We thought a bit about what might be holding us back and realized that although the Dunlop N-Tec Slick (7704 medium) on which we had achieved our best times would shred after only a few sessions, we would only need it to last 10 laps! So we gambled on the softer tire and put on a new rear for the premier class event. Unfortunately, we would not get to find out whether our decision was a good one. We were gridded in row five, position 20 (on the far right) amongst a strong field, and got off well although the field was clearly faster. We held were able to hold that position into lap 2 when Chase McFarland came onto the front straight with a head of steam and we were forced to yield a position going into the first turn. We were on our fastest lap of the weekend when disaster then struck. Entering T11 on the second downshift, the rear wheel saw daylight as the bike chirped and immediately slowed. Luckily we were able to take advantage of the ample runoff and limped our way off the track with a broken gearbox. Even though we could not finish the race, we earned some valuable points and are now 6^th overall in the California State Championship Series! Next round will be 18-19 September at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Rosamond with the WSMC. We are now busy making repairs!